Getting Oily

If you're into holistic lifestyles (or the concept that the current health care system ain't cuttin' it), you've probably heard about essential oils. These are highly concentrated oils from plants, herbs, flowers, and fruits that, when applied to parts one's body, taken in capsule or beverage form, or diffused into the air, can have tremendous healing powers. The more I read, the more I realized how beneficial they could be to try out. Headaches, illnesses, stress reduction, even for cleaning around the house -- there seems to be an almost endless list for their uses.

The skeptic in me kept searching, not for whether to try the stuff or not, but picking from which company to purchase essential oils. I'm part of an awesome Facebook group that had some great suggestions, and, upon searching further, I found a blogger that wrote tons of articles comparing popular brands and discussing whether cheaper really was better. At the end of her series, she posted this article announcing "Native American Nutritionals" as the winner for quality (and for "not too good to be true" value). Check out the post to see her reasoning.

Her reasons (and invaluable research) were compelling enough for me to consider purchasing their basic kit. It was priced, at the time, at $154.35 (10% off as a kit). See why I'm hitting myself over the head trying to select the right brand? This $&#% is expensive (and rightfully so)! Oh, and quality matters big-time since there are some sleazy people out there trying to pass crap off as the real thing. Also, I didn't want to get into the other companies' "buy this much a month, get this much free" stuff because a) I was still skeptical as to its validity (if it would work for our family) and b) I'm not good at the pressure of purchase. (You know, like if I get a 30% off coupon for Kohl's, the pressure that I should go use it because goodness knows when they'll send a 30% off coupon again. Hate that. It makes me cry in aisles, I kid you not.)

But I kept hearing of Young Living and doTerra as people's favorites. This article helped me to whittle it down to YL (which most of my FB buddies recommend, anyway). Still, I searched further (gotta love in-depth comparisons where folks do days and days worth if work for you. Apparently I'm lazy). Finally, the these links (here and here) are the two-part analysis that gave me a result that was clear. I'd be plunking down $154.35 (plus S&H...or is it S&P?) to try NAN.

I *FINALLY* ordered earlier this week, so I was kinda shocked when they arrived on Wednesday. I've used them a couple of times on our pillows (lavender one night, a blend called "tranquility" last night) and they were wicked relaxing - but that's all so far. 

This is clearly the start of something, so I'll be sure to share my findings. If I find a need to switch to another brand in the future (namely the highly recommended YL), you'll hear about it. If I find that EO are the greatest thing since sliced bread, you'll know. For now, I'm just ecstatic to finally get going!